CED articles from June 2005

CED archives from June 2005

Fiber's rising tally.(in perspective)(Service Improvement)
June 1, 2005... If you take the cable industry's view of it, the sky is firmly in place, thank you very much, when it comes to all this activity involving fiber to-the-home/premises/whatever. In fact, some cable executives have taken what could be construed as...

'Packet bonding' wins spot in DOCSIS 3.0.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification)
June 1, 2005... CableLabs has selected "packet bonding" over a rival technique for the emerging DOCSIS 3.0 specification and modular cable modem termination system (M-CMTS) architecture. Although CableLabs had vet to confirm the selection by deadline,...

ElectriPHY chips in on low-cost VDSL.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Very High Bit Rate DSL)(Digital Subscriber Line)
June 1, 2005... ElectriPHY Corp. has introduced a silicon platform that promises VDSL performance at ADSL2+ prices. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said its "Phybrwire" series of VDSL chipsets goes for $6.95 per port. That compares to $6 to $8 for...

Turner taps into gaming.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) is moving ahead on GameTap, a broad band-based network featuring games-on-demand and original programming. Turner expects to launch the service this fall. Turner said it has licensed close to 1,000 games...

Qwest reveals first FTTH market.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Fiber To The Home)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Qwest Communications has selected a master planned community near Denver as the site of the telco's first deployment of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology. The first Qwest community to add fiber-fed services to its diet will be RidgeGate,...

Policy servers make the grade.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Certification)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A slew of policy servers, a key component of the PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) architecture, emerged from CableLabs with passing grades following certification wave 34. Vendors to receive the PCMM qualification nod from CableLabs included...

Charter puts 1-gig to work.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Charter Communications is deploying technology from Harmonic Inc. that could give the operator the ability to offer speeds up to 1 Gbps to commercial customers. Charter initially is installing Harmonic's FLXLink Commercial Services...

ARRIS diets on fiber.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Amedia Networks Inc)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... ARRIS will hawk fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) gear after striking a reseller and technology development deal with Amedia Networks Inc. Under the deal ARRIS will market Amedia's fine of "QoStream" Ethernet optical, access network gear to...

Digital helps cable curb theft.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Digital Technology)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A migration to digital technology over the last four years has contributed to a 50 percent drop in consumer theft of basic cable video services, according to a new survey commissioned by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association...

SeaChange to gobble up Liberate remains.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Agreements )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The process of winding down Liberate Technologies continues, with SeaChange International, entering into a $25 million agreement to buy all of the interactive TV software provider's business outside of North America. In January, Liberate...

PixelPlay nets Atari license.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Lovers of the "classics" will love this deal. Games aggregator PixelPlay has inked a deal, to port four relatively timeless Atari games and four Hasbro board games for U.S. and Canadian interactive television (iTV) platforms. On the Atari...

MSOs weigh VoIP priorities.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(multi-system operators)(voice over Internet Protocol)
June 1, 2005... With VoIP installs gaining momentum, the need for widespread automation and integration, along with savvy business models for both residential and commercial markets, are assuming higher priorities at cable MSOs, voiced panelists at the Society...

Advanced codecs shine bright at NAB.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(National Association of Broadcasters)(Encoders)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... If you were looking for gear that supports bandwidth-saving advanced compression, the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) conference in Las Vegas was where you wanted to be. From the high-end to the low-end, encoders of just about...

Rogers tunes in to mobile video.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Mobi Television)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Rogers Wireless has set a second quarter launch for a mobile video service powered by MobiTV. Using GSM technology, the Rogers Mobile Television service offer a range of new entertainment and sports programming (including Toronto Blue Jays...

Billmaier departs Digeo.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(Managing Skills)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Jim Billmaier has stepped down as CEO of Digeo Inc., a set-top software specialist founded by Paul Allen in 1999. The company said Billmaier's departure, which became effective April 18, was by mutual agreement, but did not elaborate further....

Tut Systems Inc. has launched the Astria Services Processor.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)
June 1, 2005... Tut Systems Inc. has launched the Astria Services Processor, a video services processor with on-board IP-to-RF video edge modulation capabilities. It is designed to aid cable operators and telcos as they deploy IP deeper into their...

Training for dollars.(upfront: LATEST NEWS AND INSIGHT)(AcSELLeration Series)(Call Center Facility Testing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... NCTI and Maher & Maher have applied some real numbers to their "AcSELLeration" testing series, finding proof that it can greatly boost performance and revenue. The series is designed to increase call center productivity in the areas of...

Avoiding analysis paralysis: new and emerging tools and technologies will help viewers navigate an ever-growing swarm of choices.
June 1, 2005... Offering choice is a good thing. But too much of a good thing can teeter toward the bad, overwhelming people and causing them to throw their arms up in utter frustration. Because of the growing number of linear video channels,...

Selling IP video: MSOs still searching for reason to buy into the technology.(Internet Protocol)(Multi System Operators)
June 1, 2005... Despite the promise and hype around an all-IP future for cable networks, operators are finding the hardest service to convert to this new platform is their oldest-video. On paper it's a great idea, but in reality, it's a tough sell. In the...

Blowing it up ... three major cable initiatives could unlock a new era of conditional access.(Cable Television Broadcasting Industry)
June 1, 2005... If a triad of significant cable projects comes to pass, you might as well forget everything you know about the world of conditional access as it stands today and instead take a good look at the road ahead. The world of conditional access...

PCMM's excellent adventure: early trials working to prove merits of PacketCable Multimedia.(Networking: ADVANCED NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY \)(Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification)
June 1, 2005... In May of 1974, journalist Jon Landau was so transfixed by a rock concert he'd just attended that he penned what would become an apocryphal statement: "I saw rock and roll future," Landau wrote in an article for a Boston weekly, "and its name...

Sound and fury: audio quality issues make noise for cable operators.(Networking: ADVANCED NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY)
June 1, 2005... Flip through a typical digital TV lineup and you will find plenty of evidence of a vexing technical problem cable operators face-on one channel you have to punch up the volume just to hear dialogue, and when you switch to another channel, you...

Technology globetrotter: the world of broadband, according to Tony Werner.(Networking: ADVANCED NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... Liberty Media is a company on the move, now the largest MSO outside the U.S. Tony Werner, SVP and CTO for Liberty Media, is also on the move. In a typical year, he logs 300,000 frequent flier miles, a draft of this interview reached him hours...

Moving in a different direction: free space navigation in the channel-less world.(Broadband: BUSINESS AND NEWS PERSPECTIVE)(Cable Television Industry )(Service Improvement)
June 1, 2005... A "Dennis the Menace" comic strip shows two little boys sprawled in front of a TV set, with undecipherable words on the screen. Dennis says, "I hate telebision (sic) when it writes stuff at you." Today's TV screens, with more verbiage and...

100th and 50th anniversaries.(Ciciora's corner)
June 1, 2005... As technologists, we live day in and day out with massive progress in science and technology. It's hard to appreciate how much progress takes place because we see it every day. It's like the difference between seeing your child grow day by day...

Weighing the bandwidth options: comparing technologies for increasing network capacity.(Broadband: BUSINESS AND NEWS PERSPECTIVE)
June 1, 2005... The history of cable television is one of ever-increasing need for information capacity. Major drivers include high-definition television (HDTV), video-on-demand (VOD), higher Internet access data rates, and telephony. Depending on the service,...

2005 SCTE Cable-Tec Expo booth guide June 14-17.
June 1, 2005... 180 Connect, Inc. 1257 3M Company 132 3SAE Technologies, Inc. 1318 4 DataLink ...

1 GHz active splitter.(new products: PRODUCT REVIEWS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... WARREN, N.J. -- Anadigics Inc. has introduced the APS3604 active splitter for multiple-tuner television and set-top box applications. The 5 mm by 5 mm APS3604 replaces discrete low-noise amplifier (LNA) and splitter circuitry, and provides...

Scouting and inspection.(new products: PRODUCT REVIEWS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Datria has announced the availability of its Scouting & Inspection, a packaged voice self-service application for mobile field employees. The application helps geographically dispersed companies locate, manage, and maintain...

Cable management.(new products: PRODUCT REVIEWS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... BOTHELL, Wash. -- Leviton Voice & Data, a division of Leviton Manufacturing Company Inc., has made some new additions to its line of Horizontal Cable Management products. The company now offers a front hinge bracket, rear cable manager for...

Subscriber surge protector.(CPE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Cable Innovations Inc. has unveiled a new subscriber premise power fine surge protector, the PSB 5+3. The new unit has eight surge-protected outlets handling up to 1680 joules. Three of the outlets are extra wide, to allow...

The end of the big, ugly dish?(capital currents)(C-band transmission)
June 1, 2005... Before there was DBS, there was BUD. That stands for Big Ugly Dish, and it refers to the six-foot dish needed to receive C-band video. Starting in the early 1980s, this was the only way for rural viewers to receive a wide variety of TV...

North american residential cable telephony deployments and trials.
June 1, 2005... MSO MARKET CBR/VOIP Adams Cable New York and VoIP Service Pennsylvania systems Adelphia Markets TBA ...